Interview

Since Brendan was outsourcing some of the segments on the show while Rico was gone, he managed to convince Associate Producer James Kim to do a new segment. And James came up with this idea called "Double Take." Here's how this segment works: A comedian breaks down a single joke that bombed, and then said comedian talks about how they reworked it into something better. And James' first guest (or maybe we should say "victim") is New York funnyman Joel Kim Booster.

For decades now, Margaret Cho has been fearlessly making audiences laugh about race, sex, and gender. Before taking on our listeners' etiquette questions, she chatted with Brendan and Rico about her new stand-up show called "Fresh Off the Bloat," making jokes in an age where comedians are facing career-altering backlashes for testing boundaries, and more.

"Insecure" has one of the coolest soundtracks on television, but how exactly do those songs get picked for the show? Associate Digital Producer Kristina Lopez spoke with the show's Music Supervisor, Kier Lehman to find out how he works with the show's creator and production team to find the perfect song for a scene, and more.

Excellent reality TV all comes down to casting the right mix of personalities for a show. And now, the Emmys have finally created a category to honor the efforts reality casting directors. Our Associate Producer, Khrista Rypl, talked to Sasha Alpert, who has earned two nominations in the category for her work on the shows "Project Runway" and "Born This Way." Listen as Sasha explains how she evaluates a potential contestant's personality, what the job has taught her about parenting and more.

For our Below-the-Line special, Senior Producer Jackson Musker met up with costume designer Ane Carabtree. Ane has designed costumes for shows like "The Sopranos," "Masters of Sex," "Westworld," "Justified," and "The Handmaid's Tale," for which she earned an Emmy nomination. Listen as she explains how she developed the iconic outfits on the show, the technical challenges she faced in executing the look, and how she feels about its use as a symbol of political resistance.

Giancarlo Esposito is one of the most celebrated character actors in America. He's recently starred in not one but THREE TV shows: As the fiery pastor on "The Get Down." As the Narrator of the Netflix show "Dear White People." And, of course, as the murderous criminal genius Gus Fring on "Better Call Saul" and "Breaking Bad." Listen as the actor digs deep into one of his most iconic roles and reflects on his work in "Bob Roberts" and "Do the Right Thing."

Millions of listeners tune in to hear Charlamagne co-host the nationally syndicated radio show "The Breakfast Club." He's known for his long, sometimes combative interviews with everyone from Kanye West to Hillary Clinton. Now, he's available in book form. Before answering our listeners' etiquette questions about competitive gym bunnies, he explained his ideas behind the title of the book, his "F" Your Dreams principle, and more.

You may know Jordan as half of the comedy duo behind "Key & Peele," but his latest project has a totally different tone. It's a horror movie he wrote and directed called "Get Out." Hear our extended interview, where talks about his transition to writing and directing horror, making a serious exploration of racism, and his deep love of Disney.

You may know comedian Cristela Alonzo from her ABC comedy series "Cristela," but she initially got her start performing standup in her home state of Texas. Now, she's got a new comedy special launching January 24 on Netflix. It's called "Lower Classy," and before she tells our audience how to behave, we chat with her about New Kids on the Block day dreams and more.